Sony to sell backup battery for TVs and home appliances

Sony will sell a large power pack to run home appliances during power cuts.

The boxy device sits just over a foot (35cm) high and can run a 40-inch LCD TV for about two and a half hours or charge a smartphone 30 times, according to the company. The "Home Energy Server" will launch in Japan in October, with a target price of 150,000 yen (£1,200), and will eventually be sold internationally as well.

Power outages are an ongoing concern in Japan nearly six months after the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami which devastated a large swathe of the eastern seaboard, leaving 20,000 dead or missing. The twin disasters knocked out power in many areas, triggering meltdowns at a key nuclear reactor as well as safety shutdowns at others. Power companies have implemented rolling blackouts when demand for electricity outstrips supply.

Sony spokesman Jin Tomihari: "We'd been planning a product like this for some time, but accelerated our launch in light of the March 11 earthquake. We originally were going to launch in 2012 or 2013."

The power pack takes around six hours to charge and provides about 300 watt-hours on a full charge, with two power sockets on its front end. Tomihari said the company tried to make it suitable for use in disasters, printing the instructions directly on the device and making it relatively portable, weighing about 12kg.